Why All The It-Girls Are Whimsy Maxxing

This one's for the whimsical girlies. You know who you are. The girls who, without even realizing it, have always filled their closets with things that twirl. The girls who worked a full week at Anthropologie just to bring home a tiny crystal doorknob for their closet door, even though it was too small, because it made them smile every day. The girls who feel more at home with the fairies in the shire, than grinding a 40-hour workweek followed by drinks at the club. 

If this is you, we have good news. The internet has officially declared 2026 to be the year of whimsy maxxing. And we could not be more on board. So consider this your permission to return to your roots, the ones where the words “career” and “AI” haven’t even been invented. 

Which begs the question, how did we get here? Where did all the whimsy go? The truth is, modern civilization has been trying to stamp out feminine whimsy for centuries. Eccentric, embodied women—once revered by their communities—have in modern times been deemed silly, crazy, hysterical. Respect for their power diminished as we became sanitized, industrialized communities that prioritize efficiency and homogeneity over intuition and expression. As societies came into the modern age, sensibility won. Whimsy lost.

But art continues to tell the truth. Art's greatest purpose is to reveal what we’ve always known, like that the most eccentric among us are often the wisest, and the most grounded. Disney movies are the perfect example. Think of the grandmother in Moana. Though treated with care, she was not taken seriously or considered a sage within her community. She was too silly. But it was Moana’s grandmother who showed Moana her true path and destiny, and gave her the courage to follow it.

In The Lion King, the kooky primate Rafiki led Simba back to his rightful place as king and ruler of his pride. The sages’ way of life, and teaching method, in these examples? Songs. Jingles. Stories. Whimsy. If a life filled with whimsy and destiny is your goal, you’d be well-served to listen to the crazies. 

“You must never stop being whimsical.” - Mary Oliver

Fortunately, we have a few beacons of whimsical femininity today. Enter: the magic wand credit card girl. Digital creator Sarah De Leeuw received a homemade magic wand with a built-in credit card, and accompanying shopping spree, from her boyfriend recently as a birthday gift. When she made a video about the affair and posted it to social media, the whole internet blew up. Some loved the stunt, while others hated it. Some, it seemed, even let it ruin their day. (Who are the silly ones, in this scenario?) In reality, the whimsical shenanigans were quite adorable. 

Another champion of whimsy is none other than journalist, author and podcaster Liz Plank. Plank recently gave a masterclass on filling your life with whimsy during an episode of her podcast, Boy Problems, in which she gave some great advice. Her assignment for more whimsy?

Eat a croissant. Plank says that globally, every time a girl enters a bakery, she should get a free croissant, as reparations for what we’ve been through. (Um, agreed.) Plank recommends the warm almond version, with marzipan, not optional. 

Mornings have the most whimsy potential. “If you start your morning in whimsy, it’s hard to shake it off. It’s easier to be in whimsy when you first wake up, and you’re in between your conscious and subconscious mind. All the other stuff hasn’t loaded yet.” One idea: set your favorite song as your alarm clock, so you can shimmy out of bed like the dancing sprite you are. But also… 

You can start your day over at any time. Plank says that when her day is not going as well as she’d like (i.e. when she realizes “this is not. it.”), you can simply set off an internal alarm clock, and restart it at any time (“ding dong! Day starts over now”). Problem solved.

Make your space the girliest place on earth. Plank and Evie must be on the same vibration, because we, like her, prefer a “level of girlhood and whimsy that is above average.” Very much so. We both recommend surrounding yourself with the prettiest, girliest things imaginable. Because you can.

Stop scanning for danger. Plank recommends instead of scanning for danger, we scan for delight. Look for things that light you up. Don’t think, “What’s the worst that could happen?” Think, “What's the best that could happen?” And make that your reality.

Things that are whimsy, according to Plank: flowers (real or fake). Tiny disco balls. Putting on a good song (apparently, “Ring My Bell” is magnetic and casts a whimsical spell over you. Also “Dancing in the Moonlight”). And, obvs, marzipan. Things we would add: cartwheels. Eating ice cream in the park. Outdoor concerts. Making things. Being open. Love. 

Finally, Plank says that romanticizing your life really means noticing things in your life that you’re grateful for, and thinking about them constantly. Nothing will get you to whimsy faster than a heart vibrating in gratitude. 

Why does this matter? How does living with more whimsy improve your life? Plank asked the internet, and the internet answered: because whimsy gives your nervous system a break. It gets your brain out of evaluation mode. Whimsy interrupts the push for more; more efficiency, more optimization, more achievement. It gets you out of threat mode, and signals safety. Whimsy frees your mind up for delight. Whimsy has no outcome, other than joy. 

Finally, Plank believes that everyone is an artist, because an artist is simply “someone who makes things beautiful for no other reason than to make them beautiful.” Art is whimsy. Says Plank, “Making things cute in a world that’s burning down is such a political act… to be whimsy in the face of darkness is an admirable thing.” Also, “you’re allowed to do things just because it’s cute.” Being a girl is sometimes doing things just because they’re cute; not related to any outcome or achievement. “Beauty for beauty’s sake.”

Fully Converted

If you aren’t fully converted to the church of whimsy at this point, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s clearly the best way to live. And no, that doesn’t mean you have to leave your other church. Because if I had to put money on it, God is a god of whimsy. Have you seen spring? Spring is the literal embodiment of whimsy. There’s no way the God that created that, is not whimsical. So, as Plank puts it, “Be whimsy. Take breaks. Do cute things just for the sake of being cute.” And never, ever stop.